Welcome to Raising Kids, Growing Parents - a podcast rooted in real life, real parenting, and real growth.

This inaugural episode introduces Growing Into Your Parenting Role, the book by husband-and-wife team William G. Shackelford and Renée Nuckols Shackelford. Drawing from decades of lived experience, the Shackelfords share the practical tips, tools, and mindset shifts they used to raise strong, independent, and successful children.

Often compared to the idyllic Huxtable family, their journey wasn’t about perfection—it was about intention. Through coaching, mentoring, and learning to truly play on the same team as their children, they discovered powerful ways to connect, communicate, and guide their kids through life’s challenges.

In this podcast, you’ll hear stories and insights shaped by 50 years of parenting, 25 years of grandparenting, and decades of helping people build emotionally intelligent, lasting relationships. These are lessons learned in the trenches—and shared with honesty, candor, heart, hope, and tools.

If this episode resonates with you, you’ll love the Raising Kids, Growing Parents Podcast Training Series. This companion program takes a deeper dive into all 17 chapters of Growing Into Your Parenting Role, featuring engaging 12-minute audio lessons led by two AI presenters. Each lesson includes a thoughtfully designed workbook to help you move from insight to action - so you’re not just learning about parenting, you’re growing into it.

This short podcast introduces the Raising Kids, Growing Parents podcast series inspired by the book Growing Into Your Parenting Role: Tips and Tools for Every Stage of Your Parenting Journey — which your host, Bill Shackelford, was blessed to write with my beloved late wife, Renée.

Every episode dives into the real work of parenting — not the picture-perfect Instagram kind, but the kind that requires self-reflection, emotional maturity, patience, and grace.

This podcast series is designed to encourage you, equip you, and remind you that great parenting is a matter of choice, not circumstance. Along the way you will learn that parenting isn’t just about raising kids… it’s about growing into the best version of yourself while you do it.